Construction kicked off Thursday for the 30,000-sqaure-foot Vans Off the Wall Skatepark in Huntington Beach. The park will be free and open to the public. It is expected to open in spring. PHOTO COURTESY VF OUTDOOR INC.

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The 30,000-square-foot skate park in Huntington Beach will feature a clover bowl, rails, stairs, ramps and boxes. The park will be free and open to the public. PHOTO COURTESY VF OUTDOOR INC.

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An aerial rendering shows the 30,000-square-foot Vans Off the Wall Skatepark in Huntington Beach. The park will be free and open to the public. Vans officials say they expect to hold several large skate and BMX events at the venue. PHOTO COURTESY VF OUTDOOR INC.

A freight train passes along the tracks just south of the empty lot that will become the new Vans' 30,000-square-foot Off the Wall Skatepark in Huntington Beach. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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A long, skinny open field under power transmission lines near the intersection of Gothard and Center streets in Huntington Beach will become the Vans' 30,000-square-foot Off the Wall Skatepark in a few short months. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Professional BMX rider Corey Nastzio tries on a hard hat for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Vans' 30,000-square-foot Off the Wall Skatepark in Huntington Beach on Thursday. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Matthew Harper, mayor pro-tem of Huntington Beach, speaks to the crowd as he holds his skateboard at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Vans' 30,000-square-foot Off the Wall Skatepark in Huntington Beach Thursday. SAM GANGWER, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

By the numbers

30,000: Square footage of the skatepark that will house a clover bowl, rails, ramps, boxes and other features.

15,000: Square footage of the bowl area that will cater to novice and experienced skaters and riders.

12,000: Square footage of the street plaza.

3,000: Square footage of Jack's Garage, a skate and BMX shop that will have a snack bar.

1,000: The number of kids professional BMX rider Cory Nastazio predicts will visit the park on an average day.

HUNTINGTON BEACH – When it opens in the spring, there will be nothing like it in Orange County.

The Vans Off the Wall Skatepark – a project that has been a long time coming – broke ground Thursday in Huntington Beach at a private ceremony that included city officials, Vans employees, and several skaters and BMX riders on the Vans team.

Vans has an indoor skatepark at The Outlets of Orange that opened in 1998, but this venue will be the company's first free and public park.

"We're making a multimillion-dollar investment in this city really to give back to the kids," said Vans President Kevin Bailey.

Councilman Joe Carchio said the project got its start when a group of skaters came to a council meeting several years ago and asked for a park.

"You came to the podium and told us what you wanted. Believe it or not, we listened to you," he told the group of skaters and BMX riders at the ceremony. "The south part of Huntington Beach will be Surf City USA, and now the north part will be Skate City USA."

A group of skaters huddled around the renderings of the park. They talked excitedly about the features – a clover bowl, a large set of stairs, ramps, rails, and the list goes on.

The park will cater to street and vert skaters as well as BMX riders.

Vans' signature black-and-white checkerboard design also has found a place in the park, along with some palm trees as a nod to the park's proximity to the beach.

The 30,000-square-foot skate park will include a 15,000-square-foot skate bowl and a 12,000-square-foot skate plaza featuring boxes, rails and other amenities for skaters. Jack's Surfboards is opening a 3,000 square-foot retail space and snack shop called Jack's Garage. It will cater to all things skateboarding and BMX.

The park, being built by California Skateparks and Design Group, will be open seven days a week and will be lighted. Vans expects to host several large-scale events at the facility.

Huntington Beach resident and professional skater Christian Hosoi, 45, played a role in designing the skate bowl with varying depths that will cater to different skill levels.

Shallower areas of the bowl will help younger skaters get assimilated to the features. They can move up to the deeper and more advanced areas as they grow.

The unique shape also allows skaters to get creative, Hosoi said.

"Everyone has a different take on (the bowl) and how to approach it," he said. "It's kind of like artists when they look at a canvas. I think that's how you stimulate a skateboarder's imagination when he looks at a bowl like that."

Hosoi predicts more big names in skateboarding will be coming out of Huntington Beach.

"We're going to see not only a lot of kids skateboarding, but world champions come out of here," he said. "I would love to see that."

Professional BMX rider Cory Nastazio, 35, called the park "brilliant." He said it will emanate a mellow vibe that will be sought after by novice and professional skaters and BMX riders.

"The course that they're building is catering from 3-year-old kids up to your 40s," he said.

"I'm going to say about 1,000 kids a day in this town will be here in this park. This place will be a hit. It will be just as packed as the beach on the weekends."

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